Guidelines in Kansas

Voter Registration Requirements

You can't claim the right to vote in any other location, or under any other name.

You can't have been excluded from voting after being found "mentally incompetent" by a court of law.

If you're a first-time voter who registers by mail, you're required to submit proof of identification either at the time of registration or when you vote. You can include a copy of your identification with your registration form today! Acceptable forms of ID include: a current utility bill, bank statement, valid photo ID, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address.

Don't forget -- your state may have additional ID requirements when you go to the polls.

If you have additional questions about voting in Kansas, please contact:

Registration Deadline

Postmarked by: 15 days before Election Day.

Felony Information

Under Kansas law, if you have been convicted of a felony, you may register and vote when you have completed all the terms of your sentence (including probation or parole). When you have done so, the parole board will send you a certificate of discharge, and you may then register to vote. For more information on voting after a felony conviction, visit the Kansas Secretary of State's website, or call them at 785-296-4561.

Information for Students

You must be a resident of the state in which you register and vote. If you're a student from Kansas who attends school in another state, you may need to determine whether you're a Kansas resident or a resident of the state where you attend school. The important thing to keep in mind is that you may only cast your vote in one state.

Here's what Kansas says about residency: Under Kansas law, your residence is the place where you live, and to which, whenever you're away, you intend to return.

If you determine you're a Kansas resident, but will not be present in this state or will be away from your home district on Election Day, be sure to check the absentee ballot application requirements and deadlines. In addition, Kansas residents who attend school in-state, but in a different election district, may be eligible to register and vote in the election district where they live while attending school.

To determine whether you're a resident of a different state where you attend school, be sure to check that state's residency requirements.

Identification Information

First-time voters (someone who has never voted or someone who was previously registered but was canceled and had to re-register) must show some form of identification with their name and address. ID can be shown anytime from registration, before voting, or during the period after voting a provisional ballot but before the county canvass. But once a first-time voter has shown ID, they do not have to show it again.

Bring ONE of the following:

Utility bill, or

Paycheck, or

Kansas driver's license or non-driver's license issued by the DMV, or

Bank statement, or

Government check, or

Other government document

Same Day Registration

No

Early Voting Information

In Kansas, you don't have to wait until Election Day to vote. You can skip Election Day lines and vote early at a time that's convenient for you.

Vote Early in Person

All voters in Kansas can vote in person before Election Day at County Election Offices from October 17, 2012 to noon (12:00pm) prior to Election Day.

Vote Early by Mail

You can also vote before Election Day by completing an advance ballot and submitting it by mail.